Silver Production in Colonial Peru In 1545, nearly an entire mountain full of silver was discovered at Potosi.Soon after, Indians were put to work in the mines, and as a result, several died from the intense work.The Spanish crown took advantage of this new find, and silver was soon being shipped back to Europe as a base for the Spanish economy.Equally important and worth noting was the discovery of
workers in a silver mine
the mercury mines at Huancavelica, which helped greatly to speed up the production of silver since mercury is crucial in creating silver ore. However, rapid silver production came at a very high price.The manpower behind the wealth were laborers called mitayos, who had a sort of duty to the owners of the mines that was somewhat similar to serfdom in Europe.Although the owners were supposed to treat their workers decently, this was not always the case.As a result, many workers began traveling around the colony looking for better work conditions and wages.This unhappiness in the mines contributed largely to the uprisings and rebellions in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries (Hunefeldt).
In 1545, nearly an entire mountain full of silver was discovered at Potosi. Soon after, Indians were put to work in the mines, and as a result, several died from the intense work. The Spanish crown took advantage of this new find, and silver was soon being shipped back to Europe as a base for the Spanish economy. Equally important and worth noting was the discovery of
However, rapid silver production came at a very high price. The manpower behind the wealth were laborers called mitayos, who had a sort of duty to the owners of the mines that was somewhat similar to serfdom in Europe. Although the owners were supposed to treat their workers decently, this was not always the case. As a result, many workers began traveling around the colony looking for better work conditions and wages. This unhappiness in the mines contributed largely to the uprisings and rebellions in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries (Hunefeldt).
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